EEA Refugee Prayer Letter: News from Hungary

January 7, 2016

The Magi followed the “original GPS” – the Star of Bethlehem that led them to Jesus. Recently a flow of people started to come again east. How can we become a sign for them? How can we show Christ in our lives for every person we meet?

The refugee ministry is a big challenge for Hungarian churches, and the ongoing political debate and media campaigns have divided the Hungarian society and the churches as well. In the Christian community we find different opinions since we have different view and understanding of the situation and different sources of information.

‘Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice.’ Proverbs 20:18. We knew that we must do something, so some churches and mission organisation representatives met to discuss with each other about how can we give a real Christian response in this situation and then under the umbrella of the Evangelical Alliance we formed a coalition, and we decided, we will inform each other our every steps and help each other however we can.

First of all we work together in the railway stations of Budapest, especially at Keleti – and not far away from the station in the Pope John Paul II Square, where the refugees were gathering.

After that we went to the Serbian / Hungarian border (Roszke and around) and we set up and equip a big tent where we gave them a dry place, polyfoams, blankets, hot drinks, “halal” food, and evangelical literature (mainly Arabic New Testament). We talked with them, and we often prayed with them as well. Some people immediately began to read the Bible. There was maybe just one man who did not want us to pray for him. At times, our ministry was to collect the garbage, or to separate angry, fighting people from each other, or to help a lost boy to look for his family.

Then, when the border closed, we went to the Croatian / Hungarian border section. For example we went to Magyarboly when the train arrived from Croatia full of refugees and the Croatian police came with them. It was a big news in the Media. Here, we serve here the Hungarian and Croatian policemen. We gave them coffee, tea, cookies, and we talked with them. The Lord sent us there to provide an island of peace for them. Several people asked us who we were and why we are doing this kind things. It was good to say that we are Christians, and God leads us to here, because He wants to show His Love for them.

The next time when we went Magyarbóly, we could talk with the refugees through the train window and providing them food and drink. We had some foreign helpers and when we started talking with them, it turned out that they are representatives of the European Parliament! They just came because they had heard a lot of conflicting information and they wanted to make sure with their own eyes what the truth is.

Now we do not need to go away to the distant, foreign lands, to share the Gospel – the nations come to us. Our mission has not changed. We need to complete the great missionary order in all circumstances (Mt 28, 19-20). Let us be His witnesses (Acts 1, 8) – here and now!